Case study: supporting apprenticeship success at the Royal Shakespeare Company

Introduction

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is one of the world’s most prominent theatre groups and is renowned for ground-breaking productions which are premiered around the globe.

Based in Stratford-upon-Avon, the RSC is the custodian of Shakespearean drama but they also commission a wide range of original work from contemporary writers.

Their purpose is to help bring Shakespeare’s work alive to as many people as possible and in doing so unlock the power of Shakespeare’s words through live performance. In this way the company promotes the ethos that life is enriched by culture and creativity.

Following the RSC being awarded Independent Research Organisation (IRO) status – the first theatre company to do so – and the launch of their apprenticeship programme, the company have prioritised being an organisation that welcomes and nurtures apprenticeship learning. As well as this, they also support the career progression of people from diverse backgrounds into the arts and cultural sector.

Inspired by the concept of teaching hospitals, the RSC is developing into a teaching theatre where learning is embedded into their working culture. Having been the learning partner of the RSC since 2014, The Management Centre Learning was invited in 2023 to support the organisation’s new intake of apprentices with a structured learning approach that would help them navigate the workplace as well as their own development.

Challenge

It was understood that the RSC, with a growing apprentice population, was keen for them to have an enriching, positive and productive experience.

The organisation too is evolving and has an inspirational vision which brings people together through plays which not only deepen our understanding of each other and the world around us but which also brings joy.

With a renewed focus and a growing number of apprentices, the RSC identified an opportunity to create a development approach that would support this group across the RSC. The aim was to build on the apprenticeship work they were already doing with managers and mentors and to ensure a cross-departmental support structure for each apprentice.

As well as the technical support being provided to the apprentices, the RSC wanted to develop a more holistic offer that enabled this valued cohort to thrive in a large and fast-paced organisation.

Before beginning the programme, there were a couple of key challenges that presented an opportunity for growth.

Firstly, the training needed to be relevant to all apprentices, regardless of whether they worked in the front-of-house team, the costume department or within estates. Secondly, the programme also needed to balance the organisational skills that the RSC needed from them as well as supporting each apprentice’s career development and aspirations.

The =mc brief

The brief from Pritti Shoker, RSCI Training & Apprenticeship Manager, was therefore to:

• equip people to both deliver and shine in their roles
• manage their time effectively
• build excellent relationships at any level across the organisation
• ensure each person is able to get the very best out of themselves.

What we did

In response to the challenge and brief, we designed and delivered a modular development programme for their new intake of apprentices with core organisational and interpersonal skills.

We adapted our Success at Work programme so that it could be delivered through seven modules, each one five to six weeks apart. The spacing of these modules gave time for apprentices to try out on-the-job tools and techniques that were introduced. To this end each apprentice was shown how to:

• Create a Confident Mindset and Build your Brand – Module 1
• Manage Their Time – Module 2
• Shape Their Thinking – Module 3
• Build Resilience and Recovery – Module 4
• Create Great Work Relationships – Module 5
• Communicate Effectively – Module 6
• Understand Power and Politics – Module 7

The programme launched in April 2023 and to demonstrate endorsement by senior leaders, the launch was attended by Catherine Mayllon, the RSC’s Executive Director at the time, Kate Sirdifield, Head of HR and Pritti Shoker, Training & Apprenticeship Manager.

Evaluating the programme, the Management Centre’s Senior L&D Consultant Philly Graham said: “The modules were designed to be really practical and interactive as well as giving people an opportunity to reflect on themselves and how they could bring their best selves to their roles.

“The participants loved the opportunity to come together so that they could build relationships and learn from each other. Modules two to six were originally going to be held online but were switched to face-to-face delivery based on how much the participants were valuing being together.”

The final module also included a half day graduation where participants were able to reflect on their key learnings from across the programme and celebrate their achievements.

“At the RSC we are really proud of what we are doing to support our apprentices and we are so pleased The Management Centre Learning have been able to provide such a valuable programme of practical training alongside personal development. Whatever success means to our apprentices – this programme is helping them to find their way on the journey.”

Pritti Shoker, Training and Apprenticeship Manager

Result

At the start of 2024 the Success at Work programme had been completed by a pilot group of apprentices. The programme is now in its second year supporting a whole new intake of RSC apprentices.

The feedback from participants has been very positive. They have been hugely engaged and committed to the development. In particular they reported the value of the tools and approaches introduced but also the value in the support they gave to each other, and each other’s learning.

“The RSC has won the Best Employer (Medium) Award as part of the Apprenticeship Guide Awards 2024 which is testament to the hard work of their now 28 apprentices and the support they provided for their Apprenticeship Programme.”

Lisa Gaunt, RSC former apprentice, now an Event Manager for the RSC’s Creative and Learning Team (interviewed in May 2024)

Lisa was on Cohort 1 of the Success at Work Programme (April 2023 to November 2024)

“The Success at Work Programme gave me such a broad spectrum of things to think about. Being introduced to the tools, research and ideas around each topic, along with the bibliography was brilliant, so you could go away from the day and look at things that had really connected so you could learn more about it.

The programme also gave me the tools to find where my strengths lie, to identify weaknesses and to show me how to work on them. It helped me to find where the resources are for support and gave me a framework to think about myself as a working person and how to approach work.

Because of the way the programme was presented, it gave space for reflection. The sessions felt perfectly safe. Both Philly and her colleague director Charlie Scott created a very caring environment where we all individually felt seen and understood.

It was brilliant being able to meet other colleagues from different departments at different stages of their careers – and hear how they approached their work and see other working models.

I found the practical work we did on time management incredibly useful. That session gave me lots of tools to help me think about how to prioritise and be effective. It was so helpful to get a sense that everyone struggles with this – that it’s actually really hard and that everyone has more than they can physically do from day to day.

When I was preparing for my event manager interview, I returned to my programme notes and the reflections I had made during the sessions about communication styles and how to build working relationships.

When you’re a new starter you can berate yourself that you’re having a problem. But Success at Work presented the solutions and then you could pick and choose which worked for you.

I have developed my confidence, and it has definitely been to a large extent to the regularity of the Success at Work sessions and the nature of them. At the beginning I said I wanted to make a positive change and by the end I felt like I was equipped not only to make a change but to find my way through.

Learning how to have awareness of the social environment, being aware of how to communicate more clearly, and being able to see people work with ideas and be more creative with it, has been invaluable. The sessions are really empowering and build on one another. I’ve really started to believe I can do the job.”

The Success at Work programme has generated real-world results that work for people looking to learn essential skills to support them in their career. If you’re interested in learning more contact us here online or call 020 7978 1516 to speak with one of our consultants.